Mass Foundations: Little Star
by Nord Ronnoc
Summary: In a remote research facility on the planet Acabar, something not of this universe attacked the science crew. In an act of desperation, they called out to anyone for help. Help came from Commander Shepard, the first human Spectre. With her and her crew to the rescue, they would have to fight through the horrors before the creatures picked them all off, one by one.
1. Chapter 1: Worst Case Scenario

_Originally, this was a one-shot, but now that the length would be too long, I've decided to make it yet another multi-chapter fic. What's with me and having one-shots becoming multi-chapter stories, anyway?_

 _Anyway, imagine this is like something akin to Alien, the Thing, and Event Horizon. Especially the Thing. On sites like Sufficient Velocity, I managed to creep out my readers, so that's something._

* * *

 **Mass Foundations: Little Star**

 **Chapter One: Worst Case Scenario**

 _Year: 2183  
Location: SSV Normandy SR-1_

"Looks like we've got yet _another_ distress signal, Commander. Someone's reaching out from that weird-ass planet below," Joker said through the intercom.

"Any idea who, Joker?" Commander Madison Shepard asked.

"Yeah. ExoGeni. Bet that'll bring up some fun memories, huh?"

Shepard raised an eyebrow. The last couple times she encountered ExoGeni, she had to clean up their mess on Feros and Nodacrux. As much as she wanted to sock some ExoGeni goon like Ethan Jeong in the face, she had to face the fact that there could be innocents in danger.

"Yeah," she deadpanned. "Good times."

"Want me to patch it through?"

The light-skinned redhead nodded. "Do it."

A beep sounded, followed by some buzzing. It seemed like there was some interference. Whenever ExoGeni did some nefarious research, they tend to cripple their facilities' communications in hopes that it wouldn't leak anything out. Either that or it was caused by the planet's dense atmosphere below.

Eventually, the transmission came through. "...it worked. Hello? Is anyone out there? This is Dr. Layla Harland, head researcher. ExoGeni." The woman on the other end sounded desperate and out of breath.

The Commander leaned against the railing, her skin basking in the light of the holographic miniature galaxy. "This is Commander Shepard, Alliance Navy. What's your status?"

Dr. Harland gasped. "Commander Shepard?! The first human Spectre? Oh, thank God! Listen, we need help. Bad. We're barely holding out at the research facility on Acabar. It's a miracle this came through."

"Are you and your people in a safe location, Dr. Harland?" Shepard asked.

"Yes." The scientist paused for a seemingly long time. "We're well-fortified and closed up in the storage at the moment, but I'm not sure how long we're gonna last."

"Can you tell me what happened?"

"No. I can't discuss this," the scientist answered, softly and somberly. "Not here."

Shepard scoffed. She knew, somewhat, where this was going. "Let me guess: one of your experiments went wrong, and I have to swoop in to clean up your mess. Is that right?"

"That does seem to be a pattern, yes," Dr. Harland admitted with a nervous laugh. "I'm sending you the coordinates. I'll explain as much as I can when you get here. But please…" The panic in her voice was palpable. "Please don't leave us."

Another beep ended the transmission.

"Sounds like she's in a tight spot, Commander." It was obvious Joker was not, well, joking. "I can send you in with the Mako and get them outta here. Your call, though."

Shepard let go of the railing and stood straight, finding herself in deep deliberation.

She had a mission: find the Conduit and stop Saren. She and her friends were one step closer to getting the Cipher, stopping Benezia, and rescuing Liara. She could always call in the Alliance and let them do their job. However, she couldn't help but feel that they wouldn't do as good a job as she would. Hackett did call her to shut the AI down on the moon. She also couldn't bring herself to ignore the plea for help. Any slight delay could put Dr. Harland in danger.

Shepard went out of her way to kill as many Cerberus agents as she could, and she even scanned the keepers on the Citadel.

She made up her mind. If she could delay her mission to help a grieving widow and her brother, then she could make time for this.

"We're going in. Joker, set a course for the Huron system," Shepard commanded.

"Aye aye, Commander," said Joker.

Shepard sighed. It was like a heavy burden went off her shoulders. "We're going to get you out of there," she mused, fully knowing Dr. Harland couldn't hear her.

 _Even though you might be a pain in the ass_.

* * *

 _Planet: Acabar  
System: Huron  
Cluster: Styx Theta  
Type: Rock  
Orbital Distance: 18.9 AU  
Orbital Period: 619 Earth Years  
Keplerian Ratio: 0.6  
Radius: 5,000 km  
Day Length: 8 Earth Hours  
Atmospheric Pressure: .7 atm  
Surface Temperature: 35 C°  
Surface Gravity: 0.71 g  
Mass: .87 Earth Mass  
Satellites: n/a _

The SSV Normandy SR-1 swooped into Acabar's atmosphere, low enough for the Mako to drop off the frigate's tail end at a safe height. Midway through its fall, it used its thrusters to soften the impact upon landing down. It landed on a flat, solid surface with a thud.

Inside that six-wheeled rover were three people. Shepard was up front at the wheel, much to the dismay of her two companions. Not being the best driver in the galaxy would have been an understatement. Of course, Shepard would blame it on the Mako's clumsiness, especially when it came to mountains and the like.

One of the two passengers were Garrus Vakarian, a turian clad in blue-and-black armor with a rounded collar around his neck. His C-Sec training kicked in, prompting him to bring his head between his legs.

"Not again…" Garrus complained quietly.

The other was Liara T'Soni, an asari archaeologist and the daughter of Benezia. Her padded combat suit was a dull dark gray, nearly matching in color as compared to Shepard's heavier armor save for a red stripe running down her right arm. Liara held onto her seat tightly, her teeth clenched with fear.

"Commander, how far is the facility?" Liara asked. "I'm not looking forward to more of your driving."

"Normandy's scanner says it's about five kilometers to the northwest," Shepard answered, looking at a nearby monitor. "Which is… past the mountains and the valley."

"Well, that'll be fun," Garrus said sardonically.

Shepard sighed in response as she peered out the window.

It was nighttime outside the Mako, darker than the furthest reaches of space. Not even the nearest star in the system could shine through the planet's dense atmosphere to soften the barren and jagged landscape with gleaming light. Judging by how the obsidian had formed, they were in the middle of a canyon, near the edge of a cliff.

The path ahead would be a smooth one. Barring incidents, it should lead them directly to the research facility. And with that knowledge, Shepard drove the Mako forward.

No one spoke since then, leaving the Commander alone in her thoughts as she kept her eyes forward. She couldn't help but wonder: why this planet? Even for ExoGeni, a company specializing in colonization and exploration, this was rather odd. Acabar lacked a breathable atmosphere for most sentient beings, as it had high amounts of carbon dioxide and methane. There were no valuable resources nor were there any indigenous life forms. There was nothing there. This planet was nothing more than a toxic ball of rock.

"Do we know anything else?" Liara asked.

"Just that Dr. Harland needs our help," Shepard answered. "I wouldn't be surprised if we had to clean up another one of their messes."

"Or try to bribe us to sweep their mistakes under the rug," Garrus added.

"That too," said Shepard. "Dr. Harland was cagey in the transmission, but it's clear she's in a pretty tight spot. I'm willing to give her the benefit of the doubt."

Garrus nodded, understanding Shepard's reasoning. "Your call, Shepard. We'll follow your lead."

"Appreciate it, Garrus," Shepard smiled.

The Mako went through a series of twists and turns. Thankfully, it only climbed over small hilltops. Some time had passed, they found a building that stuck out like a sore thumb, surrounded by cliffs and mountains.

At a glance, it resembled every other pre-made hub. At the front, ExoGeni's logo glowed a hollow green arrow going left between two white lines. The facility had multiple buildings, all large and roughly square-shaped with curved corners. Each of them was connected via tubes. A few antennas were planted on the roof. However, one of them snapped in half, the other twisted around like clay. There were a couple vehicles at the side, and from the dust building up on their hulls, they hadn't been used in weeks.

"We're here. That's the facility," said Liara.

A chill ran down Shepard's spine as she spied a dark figure standing on top of a mountain. Were they being watched? And by whom? She barely had time to register what happened before she parked the Mako right next to the facility's entrance.

They put their helmets on before they stepped out of the Mako. Outside, the storms above greeted them with a loud howl. The Normandy's scanners warned them of the planet's weather, but at least they got there before the storm could get worse. On the downside, because of the clouds blanketing the sky, Shepard wouldn't be able to contact Joker for a pickup. Not for a while, at least.

"What happened here?" Garrus asked. He scanned his surroundings, an anxious look hiding behind his helmet.

"No idea," Shepard answered. "That's what we're here to find out."

"I got a bad feeling about this," Liara remarked, sharing Garrus's anxiety.

"Same," Garrus replied.

The squad went up to the entrance of the main building, which was the largest one among the three other buildings. There was a red light on the door. Locked, no doubt. Were they trying to keep something in or out?

"Hello? Anybody here?" Shepard called out to an intercom nearby. No answer. Were they too late?

"Garrus?" she asked, turning to the turian.

Garrus nodded. "On it, Shepard." He activated his omni-tool on his left forearm. Surrounding the orange light were a series of command codes and blinking colorful lights, fighting against the facility's security system. The former C-Sec officer tapped on each of the lights in pattern.

After a minute, Garrus cracked the security, and the door's light turned green. They entered the airlock and waited for the pressure to equalize. The air hissed as a white wall of light swept over the squad. Another minute later and the process finished.

Stepping into another room, they took their helmets off.

It was a narrow hallway, highlighted by the flickering lights above them. Several doors ahead were held shut, each flashing a red light.

The three realized things might get ugly from here on out. What looked like multicolored metal blocks strapped to their backs turned into guns of various shapes as they pulled out their weapons. Because they would be in tight spaces, Garrus opted for an HMWA Advanced assault rifle instead of his usual sniper rifle. Shepard's HMWSG Master shotgun was also triangular, similar to Garrus's gun. Liara's HMWP Master pistol was compact, designed to fit comfortably in the hands of most species.

There was no other option but to move forward.

"Great. Guess we're walking straight into a horror movie," Shepard remarked while marching cautiously down the hallway.

"Best we won't split up, then," Liara replied.

"Well, we technically already did from the Normandy," Garrus responded with his mandibles twitching slightly.

"All right, enough chit-chat, smart asses. We have a mission to do," Shepard ordered. She almost stopped herself. It dawned on her this would also apply to her. She chuckled quietly at her own hypocrisy.

They moved to a larger area of the building. There was little light there, supported only in momentary flashes by the sparks coming out of exposed wires on the walls and columns. As soon as Shepard turned on her shotgun's flashlight, the three were met with an unpleasant sight.

Corpses lay strewn about the room. Two of them had multiple holes, making them look like little more than loose pieces of meat. A few others were ripped in half at the waistline, organs trailing from their bodies. One of them laid face down on the floor, next to a series of scientific contraptions. Shepard went over to investigate. She knelt and turned the body around, only to gasp in shock.

Two identical faces mashed together on one head would have been the most accurate description she could think up. Another mouth formed out of the man's left cheek. A third eye had almost merged with the other, the golden-brown irises almost touching each other. His pale skin was drained of all color, and his dark hair had turned greasy. There was a look of terror on his face. His body looked intact, but his blue-and-white armor told a different story. It looked like his breastplate had cracked open from the inside.

"What the hell happened here?" Shepard could barely contain the anger in her voice.

"By the Goddess!" Liara cried. She almost wanted to vomit. "What…?"

Garrus said nothing, his attention focused on a door opening to their right.

As the door slid open, it showed another dark hallway, and with it, another person stumbled in. At first, they thought it was someone injured, judging by the pained moans and groans. But when they shone their flashlights on said person, it was revealed to be a woman, suffering the same fate as the man on the floor but alive.

Her mouth was too wide, with straps of flesh keeping her jaw together, twisting and turning in unnatural directions. It was a facade of a smile. Her dark eyes had merged into one giant eyeball, bulging out and darting in all directions. Despite the eyeball bleeding profusely and seemingly on the verge of breaking apart, it was somehow intact. Her prominent chin had split in two, and it doesn't look like it would be stopping anytime soon. Unlike the man on the floor, her armor was intact. Blood came pouring out of her nose like a waterfall.

What sounded like moans and groans before was actually insane laughter.

"Wh-whom do I hate?!" the disfigured woman asked. "Can't tell which…"

The eyeball shifted its direction directly at the squad. Liara found herself too shocked to move, let alone bring her pistol up. Shepard prepped her stance, aiming her gun at the disfigured woman.

"Answer me… please…" the woman pleaded. She cried out in pain as she clung to her head with her free left hand. Her elongated left hand. "Splitting."

What she said happened in a literal sense. Her head split, starting from the top until it reached past her lips. Instead of exposing organs like her brain, it was like two layers of skin had peeled off from one another. Her dark hair dangled at each 'side.'

"Ah, that's…" the left half of her head spoke.

"…better," the right half of her head finished. Both halves smiled, making her already wide mouth even wider. "Now where…

"…were we?"

As the thing raised a pistol in her right hand, Shepard fired from her shotgun. The impact collided as Liara's body glowed blue, her combat instincts kicking in, and the asari stretched her arm out. A biotic projectile appeared and zipped across, hitting the heavily disfigured thing in the head. The blast and the biotic projectile had sent the thing flying backward into the darkness. The thing screamed, trailing off as it was ended by a sickening yet satisfying splat.

Shepard sighed, relieved she could let her guard down for a moment. She dropped her shoulders, relaxing her stance as she lowered her gun.

"You two okay?" she asked, turning toward Liara and Garrus.

Liara nodded nervously, her lips trembling while she let out heavy breaths. "Goddess. I have never seen anything like this."

"You and me both," Garrus replied. "I would say something's not right here, but I suppose these… things had made that clear."

Shepard nodded and eyed the dead, deformed man on the floor. She fired her shotgun enough times to turn the corpse into bloody Swiss cheese.

Garrus's mandibles twitched again as he chuckled. "Overkill much, Shepard?"

"I had to be sure. I don't want any more surprises," Shepard replied.

She looked around the room, only to find two doors: the one they came through and the other the malformed woman opened. With not much else to do, the squad entered through the second door.

It was dark here as well. No windows or other lights aside from the ones emitted from their weapons. Looking around, they were in a large, wide hallway with multiple locked doors. As they went further on, it would seem to be an otherwise ordinary and sterile corridor if not for a bare arm sticking out of the wall nearby.

"What in the…?" Garrus trailed off, his eyes wide with shock.

Shepard stepped in to investigate, her shotgun poking the arm. The arm went limp, but it wasn't the only thing she noticed. Looking more closely, it was as if the arm had fused into the wall as a natural extension.

She was about to throw up last night's dinner. Just looking at it only made nausea worse.

Loud moans and bellows echoed, interrupting Shepard's thoughts. She looked around, following the source of the noises to a nearby locked door to the left. It suddenly turned green.

Shepard signaled to the squad. Garrus and Liara went to each end of the door and planted their backs against the wall. Shepard was up front, bracing the shotgun against her right shoulder. Cold sweat took hold of her as she eyed the green light. It called out to her, telling her to open the door.

She had a feeling that opening the door would lead to trouble.

Nevertheless, something else opened it from the other side. Shepard flashed her light and found two dozen of the deformed people rushing out. Most of them bore similarities to the previous two they encountered. There was one that, although his girth meant for two people, managed to keep up with the rest. Worse yet, many of them had guns, even as they were hell-bent on using their hands to tear the squad apart.

The noises never stopped as the constant hail of gunfire rapidly drained their shields.

"Shit!" Shepard grunted as she waved her arm, creating a blue aura surrounding her body to strengthen her shields. She leaped out of the way to escape the gunfire.

Garrus firmly held his position, using his omni-tool to launch a small disk at the hoard. The disk detonated, sending out a green pulse that lingered on most of the malformed things. It should disable whatever power systems those things still held.

Despite her troubled state, Liara threw a ball of dark energy at the horde in question. Suspended in the air, it became a singularity, pulling anyone nearby toward it and had them fly around the singularity like strings attached to a ceiling.

Shepard recovered and capitalized on this moment. She fired her shotgun enough times to take out a couple of them. The blasts tore the few apart with nothing to show. Then somehow, the bodies started to regenerate and regrow their missing parts, multiplying in the process. Shepard threw a biotic warp and watched as its subatomic forces pulled that thing's body apart.

There was little time to act as the singularity disappeared. What remained of the hoard—about a dozen and a half—landed on the floor with a dull thud.

"Fire in the hole!" somebody bellowed out.

Before anyone knew what happened, there was a giant, blinding explosion that covered the whole room. The squad managed to take cover as the blast engulfed the entire hoard. It was only less than a minute before the ringing in Shepard's ears subsided.

The squad peered into the room and found it to be nothing but a full scorch mark with debris lying about, with the smell of burnt and melted flesh lingering in the air. The framework was still intact, and nothing remained of the deformed horde.

At the far end of the room, on top of a set of stairs, was a man clad in blue-and-white armor from head to toe. His visor only showed his brown eyes.

"You can thank me later, folks," the man said. "What are you three standing around here for? Get your asses over here, now!"

The squad didn't waste any time getting up the stairs, doing their best to ignore the foul smell.

"Well, I'll be damned. _You're_ Commander Shepard?" the man asked, his voice filled with awe. "Arthur Newton. I'm the new security chief."

"How did you get the position?" Garrus asked.

All mirth faded from Arthur's face under his helmet. "Well, Mr. Thornton died. I was next in line, and I'm the only guy with the experience here, so… yeah."

"Thanks for the assist, Arthur," Shepard replied. "Can you tell me what the _hell_ is going on here?"

Arthur sighed and fell silent for a moment. "To be honest… I have no fucking idea. It feels like everything happened all at once. Hell, with the way things are going, I'm sure glad that you got here in the nick of time." He let out a small yet dark chuckle. "Bet Harland will be happy to see you."

"She's here, then?"

"Yeah. If you want answers on these… Merged, she'll tell you."

The squad was taken aback. "Wait, what are the Merged?" Garrus asked, confused.

The security guard shrugged as he faced toward the exit. "The freaky people things you three just fought." He squirmed a little as he shook his head. "I have no idea how to explain it to you. A lot of quantum mechanics just flew over my head. I'm just paid to guard some things and shoot others. Explaining the science stuff ain't my fortee."

"I believe it's _forte_ ," Liara corrected him.

"Whatever."

"Where's Harland, then? Are there others with her?" Shepard asked.

"We're holding out in the armory in the northern facility," Arthur responded. "There are six of us, me and Dr. Harland included. You coming or what?"

The human Spectre nodded. The three followed the guard as they all left the burnt-out room behind and navigated down a narrow and round corridor. This hallway was much brighter, likely relying on emergency power systems. Shepard's mind was filled with questions. It was impossible for her to ignore that urge to ask.

"So how did you find us?" Shepard asked. "Security seems to be compromised as it is."

"The entire facility's on lockdown. No one gets in or out," Arthur explained, carrying an Avenger assault rifle in his hands. "I had Witt, our tech expert, manually control the doors here. Wasn't easy, let me tell ya." He whipped out a cylinder-like, metal object with a button on top. It was the size of his hand. "He also made those thermite grenades. Clears out an entire room with no problem. Turns out mass effect fields and burning those things at high temperatures takes them out easily."

"I noticed when Shepard and I used our biotics," Liara remarked. "For example, a warp field disintegrated one of those things in an instant." She rubbed her chin in contemplation. "They're more… receptive to being knocked about by kinetic forces. If I were to guess, they could be similar to a husk or even a creeper made by the Thorian back on Feros."

Arthur almost tripped over his feet, like he couldn't believe what he heard. "The hell's a Thorian?"

"It's a long story," Garrus explained. "Don't tell me you're reacting to that."

"I dunno. Feels like every day is a surprise. Man, ExoGeni never fills me in on this stuff," the guard complained.

They came to a halt when Arthur stopped in front of a door. Unlike the many other doors Shepard and her friends found in their journey, this one had a speaker next to it. The flat orange screen contrasted heavily with the rest of the light-gray, sterile hallway.

"Please say the passphrase," the VI requested when Arthur pressed a green button.

Arthur rubbed the back of his neck. "Uh… how does this go again? Twinkle twinkle… little star… how I wonder what you are. Up above the world so high, like a diamond in the sky. Twinkle twinkle, little star, how I wonder what you are." He almost broke into song a couple times.

"Voice matched. That is the correct passphrase." The VI seemed more chipper after his response.

A beep and the door slid open in the middle as the rest of the squad looked on in disbelief.

"Really?" Shepard asked incredulously.

Arthur shrugged defensively. "Wasn't my idea. Besides, it doesn't recognize those Merged's voices. If you call their moans that." He stepped inside. Shepard and her squad followed suit.

There were few weapons stacked on the stalls in the armory if they hadn't been reorganized already. Instead, the armory had made room for other contraptions. Judging by the amount of litter on the floor, discarded datapads on the tables, and used medical accessories laid about, the occupants had been here for a while. The stench of antiseptic was strong here.

Out of the five aside from Arthur, two of them were security personnel. One of them wore similar armor to Arthur's save for a helmet, showing off her red-brown, rounded face. The other guard only had his undergarments. The pale, bald man groaned in his sleep, thrashing about on a stretcher as the doctor watched him with an omni-tool shaking in his hand.

The doctor was tall and lanky, his skin a tawny yet pale tone. His short, dark-brown hair was greasy with sweat. It was obvious he didn't get much sleep, going by the dark rings around his beady eyes.

Another man hunched over a terminal on the floor, pale and wide-eyed as if in a permanent state of shock. His cheeks were sunken in, and his black t-shirt and tan cargo pants were too baggy for his current shape.

"Dr. Harland, we got guests here," Arthur announced. "In fact, we got Shepard herself, in the flesh."

A woman with bronze skin and dark hair that reached down to her neck turned around. Her green-sleeved uniform signaled to Shepard that she was a scientist, probably the leader of this group. She let out a heavy sigh, her hand resting on her chest. "Oh, thank god! Maybe we'll have a chance to get out of this after all."

"You're Dr. Layla Harland?" Shepard and her squad attached their weapons to their backs, turning them back into blocks.

"Yes, that's right," Dr. Harland answered with a small smile. "If you haven't come here…"

"Not a problem. Looks like all of you have seen better days."

"That's a fucking understatement, y'know," the man on the floor commented, his eyes still glued to the orange screen. "Name's Witt. Hi there." He waved his hand lazily.

"Neil, how's he doin'?" the female guard asked, referring to the man on the stretcher.

The doctor, Neil, tapped a command on the datapad, showing off a picture of a body with a nervous system. "Dave has a bad dream, it looks like. As someone who's not into Freud, I… don't think he's doing well. I'm sorry, Chelsey."

"What happened here?" Liara asked, looking around.

The scientist sighed. She closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Well, this is a lot to explain."

"We've seen a lot of weird things in the galaxy, doctor," the commander replied.

It took a moment for the scientist to collect her thoughts. "All right. We made Point 37 to find out if this planet was viable for mining resources. Everything went according to plan for a while."

"Until that damn orb showed up in the western facility weeks ago," Witt finished, bitter.

Shepard cocked an eyebrow. "What orb? Where did it come from?"

Dr. Harland nodded toward Witt, who popped up a paused video on his terminal. Showing it to Shepard as he stood up, it depicted a transparent orb with a perfectly smooth surface. It crowned over a plain pillar in the middle of a dark room highlighted by spotlights. It gleamed like a star deep in the void. Shepard couldn't help but find it beautiful.

"Is that Prothean? Is it responsible for these… Merged?" Shepard asked.

"Does it look Prothean to you, lady?" Witt asked incredulously. "It showed up with crazy energy readings! It was, like, way off the charts!"

"So you studied it, then," said Garrus. "Does it ever occur to you that it should be contained?"

Dr. Harland nodded. "We didn't take it that seriously. It was just a side project at first. However, a colleague of mine found similar readings coming from the Citadel a year prior."

"Wait, you said the Citadel? What happened there?" Shepard asked, taken aback.

Harland shrugged. "Other than putting two and two together that it's connected to this orb, we have no idea. That was when we needed to put our full focus on the orb."

"When we started to contain it, that's when everything went straight to hell," Chelsey explained. "There were dozens of us. Scientists, tech specialists, security, you name it. We're down to six now."

"But what the hell happened!?" Shepard demanded.

With that, Witt unpaused the video. It started out with two scientists in hazmat suits slowly approaching the orb. As they set up a device nearby, the orb vibrated and lit up the entire area with a bright blue light. The light cast great shadows behind them.

The scientists stepped back and exchanged confused looks. Without warning, the light engulfed everything in sight. The sudden brightness lasted for several seconds before dissipating. Next thing anyone knew, the scientists were knocked on the ground, unconsciousness. Several guards and doctors dashed in to recover the scientists.

And that was when one of the affected scientists cried out in pain, violently twitching as her right arm grew an extra hand. Frantic voices filled the audio as the scientists tore a hapless doctor in half like a hot knife through butter. Witt abruptly stopped the video, a pained and panicked expression on his face.

"That was the first of what I called the Merged," Dr. Harland explained.

"Why call them the Merged?" Shepard asked.

It was then everyone conscious in the room save for Liara and Garrus to stare at Shepard. Dr. Harland let out a deep sigh before speaking. "Are you familiar with the multiverse theory? It's because they were two alternate selves that merged, hence the name. For example, one alive and one dead."

Liara's eyes widened in shock. "Parallel realities? But… but that's impossible."

"Apparently not," Dr. Harland responded.

"I agree with Liara," said Shepard. "This defies the laws of reality!"

The scientist rubbed her chin in contemplation. "Perhaps not every reality follows the laws of physics as ours do. Perhaps it came from a dimension of chaos." She trailed off before a realization dawned on her. "If we could find an orb that wouldn't spawn these abominations, we could use it to our advantage."

Shepard dropped her jaw. She couldn't believe what she just heard. "And here I thought you were reasonable."

"Think about it, Commander. Unlimited energy and resources, instantaneous travel at any point in the universe. What more could anyone ask for?"

Shepard could only step back and glare at every conscious staff member in the room. She was not having it. Not today. "Did IQs just drop _sharply_ before we got here?"

"Pardon me?" Dr. Harland's voice slowly turned hostile as her eyes narrowed.

"Hey, whoa whoa whoa whoa! Hold on!" Witt shot straight up with his hands in front of him. "Why are you bringing me into this fuckup? What'd I do?"

"You heard me," Shepard shot back. "Are you willing to back her up on this?"

Witt opened his mouth, but no words came out. Instead, he stuttered for a moment before gathering his thoughts. "Well, yeah. I guess," he shrugged. "If we could contain that orb or somethin', I don't see th' harm."

Arthur stomped toward the others, ignoring the protests of Garrus and Liara. "Whatever you're thinking of, doc, it better be fucking worth the lives of my men!"

A flabbergasted Dr. Harland shot Arthur a look of absolute seriousness. "Of course it will be worth it! The lives lost were unforeseen, I admit. I assure you we'll be able to prevent more incidents like this with the orb in our hands!"

Neil could only groan, burying his face in his hands. "By all that's holy, is this the time to argue when our lives are at stake?!"

Chelsey nodded, agreeing with the medical doctor, and stepped back. "Not touching this one with a ten-foot pole."

Shepard shook her head. She looked directly at the head scientist with hard-edged determination and annoyance. "Dr. Harland, I'm aware your intentions are good. You made that absolutely clear."

Dr. Harland nodded along. "And?"

Shepard's voice shook, rising and falling. "If you think that excuses for what happened here, don't bother. You're lucky I said I would get you out of here. Otherwise, I would've kicked your ass the moment I walked into the room and had you arrested. I mean, you didn't find it odd that it appeared out of nowhere? The moment you found something was off, you went into studying it without containing it until it was too late. You sure do give science a bad rep." Harland pouted and folded her arms across her chest before Shepard continued. "Feels great, doesn't it? Being the mad scientist."

"Now that's just—"

"And you're arguing if this damn thing would make a profit."

Before the scientist could say another word, Dave twitched and thrashed, this time violently. Blood and spit spewed out of his mouth like a volcano as the monitor connected to his arm nearby began beeping loudly.

"Shit, Dave needs help!" Chelsey cried out. "Got any sedatives left, Neil?"

Neil grunted as he began to pin Dave with one arm and pulled up the restraints with the other. Chelsey rushed in to help the doctor. "No idea! Witt, see if you could find a sedative in a cache somewhere! If not… I think you know what to do." Witt hesitated for a moment before nodding. He zipped across the room to another door.

However, Dave's head twitched and turned at an unnatural speed. " _Tellmetellmetellmetellmetellme_!" he wailed. His voice doesn't sound human anymore.

Shepard and the others came in but, Dave ripped off the restraints and yanked a yelping panicking Neil by the neck in one go. His hands had split in two as he snapped Neil's neck at a sharp angle and tossed the body aside like a ragdoll, crashing into a stall with a sickening splat. With another pair of arms, he swiped Chelsey off her feet. She flew and slammed into the wall, stunning her.

" _See me_!" the creature formerly known as Dave bellowed out, taking on a feral stance. He zipped a gaping maw of a two-faced head around and gazed at Dr. Harland. This was all before anyone could pull their weapons out.

The scientist couldn't move, frozen in place as her legs shook. The Dave creature leaped from the stretcher, mere inches away from her before a warp field enveloped his body. A biotic projectile from Liara made it just in time, disintegrating the creature in midair.

Everyone looked at a now glowing Arthur, who balled his hands tightly. He let out a relieved sigh and relaxed his stance, the dark-blue light waning from his body.

The scientist knelt, tears welling up in her eyes. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry…" Her voice broke down into incomprehensible sobs.

The lead security guard couldn't help but look at her with pity. "Pretty sure you didn't mean it," he said before correcting himself. "I hope you didn't mean it."

After Chelsey recovered and helped him bring Dr. Harland to a stretcher for her to rest, Arthur turned to Shepard. "How the hell did this happen? I mean, Dave seemed fine one moment, and now he's…" He shook his head in disbelief. "I dunno. He kinda looked way off compared to the other Merged. What are we gonna do?" The panic in his voice was palpable.

"Guess we're past time to smash that orb into pieces." Shepard couldn't help but smirk at her own answer. "We'll need to split into two teams. Garrus, Liara, you go with Witt to the comm relay. We need to re-establish communications with the Normandy. We're here on a rescue mission, and that's what we're doing."

"Aye aye, Commander," Garrus nodded. The asari nodded as well.

"Arthur, you're with me."

Witt returned to the group with a yellow, cylinder-shaped flamethrower. It had a can full of napalm latched on the top. "Hey, I found a Firestorm!" The smile on his face disappeared when he looked at the body of Neil. The body wasn't a bloody mess. Rather, it was as the body was attached to the wall and floor. His head spun around, nausea overwhelming him. "Oh Allah, be right back." He ran up to Shepard with the flamethrower before running off with full cheeks.

A minute full of Witt throwing up had passed, and he returned. "Oh man. I am so getting a therapist after this." The way everyone looked at him gave way to a dawning realization that he was needed for something. Something dangerous, no doubt.

"Well, shit."


	2. Chapter 2: Always Be Prepared

**Chapter Two: Always Be Prepared**

 _Casualty List of the ExoGeni Acabar division:_

 _C. Smith  
R. Howard  
R. Price  
A. Radcliffe  
S. King  
C.T. Phipps  
H. Hino  
L. Carter  
B. Lumley  
B. Stoker  
A. Arkham  
R. Scott  
J. Carpenter  
P. Anderson  
M. Shelley  
G. Romero  
E. Engstrom  
A. Clark  
I. Clark  
J. Carver  
N. Brennan  
E. Langford  
N. Stross  
H. Wells  
C. Konaka  
F. Lieber  
J. Ito  
G. Toro  
M. Mignola  
S. Mikami  
K. Levine  
E. Poe  
A. Rice_

 _Projected galactic casualty rate should containment fail: approx. 50 million at min._

 _Neil Peretti  
Status: Dead  
Cause: Strangulation, broken neck_

 _David Kirkman  
Status: Dead  
Cause: Gunshot_

The winds roared outside. Like fingers tapping on a desk, the walls around Shepard and Arthur creaked and moaned.

It was dark in a wreckage of a corridor, supported only by the lights from their omni-tools. The two trod carefully, stepping aside debris and avoiding the loose wires dangling from the ceiling. Both Shepard and Arthur had to wear their helmets; the western facility's oxygen filter system got destroyed in the chaos prior.

They didn't encounter any of the Merged since leaving the armory. They weren't certain if they should be thankful or not.

Something buzzed inside their helmets.

"Witt here."

She tapped her helmet. "This is Commander Shepard. We just got in the western facility. Status?"

"One hell of a maelstrom here!" Witt replied. The urgency in his voice on the other end was unmistakable. "We're hanging onto whatever we can use as support."

Arthur tapped his helmet as well. "What about the comm relay?"

"Have you seen the damage?" Witt remarked. "One's twisted and all messed up, so it's useless. The other one can be salvageable. Shepard's crew is looking for the pieces right now. Might as well slap some omni-gel on it with the remaining pieces and call it a day."

"Just…" Arthur turned and paced around anxiously. He sighed. "Just be safe, okay? We lost too many people. I don't wanna lose you, too."

"Aw, you _do_ care about me," Witt jeered. Shepard could sense that grin in his voice.

Static slowly overwhelmed the line, making it difficult to understand what Witt said.

"…the…? …watching us?" It was Liara.

"Get down!" That was Garrus.

Before the line got cut off, the last sound Shepard and Arthur heard was gunfire, followed by a loud groan.

One moment, Arthur stood still, frozen in disbelief. The next, he tried to make a beeline in the opposite direction, only for Shepard to grab his shoulder before he took another step.

"Hey, what are you doing?!" Shepard demanded.

"You heard what happened on the comm!" Arthur exclaimed. "For all we know, there could be more of these… things out there!"

Shepard froze. Was that what she saw while in the Mako? Was what Arthur saying could be true?

She let go of his shoulder. "Witt knew what he signed up for, despite his complaining, and he's not alone. He's in capable hands."

Arthur scoffed. "Okay. Great! That's good. What about your ship, huh? What if it arrives if pick us up and some Merged attacks it. What will happen if we let them loose onto the galaxy."

"If that happens, I'll call off the Normandy until we get this done," Shepard answered, grim but determined.

Arthur nodded. "It'll be days 'till the storm clears up. It's strong enough to mess up our signals. Even our shuttles couldn't break through the clouds. That's how bad it is. I just don't want those deformed freaks fucking everything up!"

"You and me both." Shepard shared the sentiment.

"How's that flamethrower?"

Shepard looked at the Firestorm in her hands and checked the float. "Full tank. You?"

Arthur showed her a bundle of disk-shaped grenades on his waist, along with a pack of titanium canisters hanging from his hip. "Enough to blow the place up and the orb with it. Witt's good with terminals and equipment."

Shepard stared at the man, worried. "What about you?"

"Me?" Arthur smiled underneath his helmet and shrugged. "Assuming everything goes according to plan, I'll be right as rain. I'll set up the charges, and we all run like hell once they detonate."

"Try not to push it," Shepard teased. "That won't end well for you."

A loud clang got their attention. Shepard readied her weapon, and Arthur's first glowed a bright blue. A metal pipe rolled out of a hole in the wall nearby. A single Merged crawled out and grabbed the pipe, her elongated fingers wrapping around it multiple times over. Her scientist garb was covered in blood—her blood, likely. Guts spilled out of a gap in a flap of a head. She had no eyes but somehow knew of their presence.

Her arms stretched out to absurd lengths. In response, Shepard let out a burst of flame from her weapon, engulfing the thing in seconds. The merged screeched in pain as Arthur threw a biotic warp, creating a fiery explosion.

Gobsmacked, Shepard looked on as scorched body parts flew everywhere. "Well, that's… something."

"Yep." Arthur leaned toward a scorched, elongated finger laid at his feet. "Looks like these things are getting' worse. I reckon they do not like what we're doin'."

"We better get a move on, then."

"Right behind you, Commander."

Shepard went on ahead with the security chief following closely behind.

* * *

"Get down!" Garrus called out. He snatched Witt and leaped before landing behind a waist-high wall mounted to the mostly-restored antenna, avoiding the sudden hail of gunfire.

Witt grunted and struggled to get up. He was _this_ close to finishing the repairs. If he hadn't been interrupted, he would've been able to fine-tune the signal enough to easily bypass the thick atmosphere above. All he wore was a green jumpsuit and a plain helmet. He only had a Kessler pistol hanging at his hip, a peashooter compared to the weaponry the asari and the turian had.

He and Garrus stood up. The turian laid fire against their assailants with his assault rifle. However, the storm made it difficult to see beyond them and the antenna.

His stomach churned. Pain groans came from all around. A malformed hand had landed on his feet, trailed by a long arm. He looked past the arm, wide-eyed, and recognized the Merged climbing on the roof.

It was his friend. Richard Price. He could tell by the scar running down its nose, which had split in two along with its mouth.

"Witt…" it said in a wheezy voice. "Can you tell me? It hurts so much."

Panic set in, and he screamed at the top of his lungs. He fell on his ass and crawled backward, desperately trying to get away from the freak. He whipped out his pistol and fired wildly. Most of the shots didn't hit his "friend." The ones that did barely grazed it, so it crawled toward him, undeterred.

He closed his and buried his face in his knees, waiting for the inevitable.

A sudden whoomph made him open his eyes. The thing that was his friend was gone. He was grateful for it.

Liara, the asari, dashed towards him and helped him up to his feet. The hairs on the back of his neck stood. She was still glowing blue. The distressed look on her face was palpable, but she managed it better than he could.

"Witt, look, we don't have much time!" Liara said. "Is the comm relay ready?"

Witt hesitated. Containment had been breached. The Merged managed to escape, unaffected by the toxic atmosphere. Would he really call in the Normandy and risk them latching onto the ship? If the orb wasn't destroyed then, what hope would he have?

His hands shook as his omni-tool turned on. It was a struggle inputting a command. The next few seconds were the longest ones he had ever experienced.

At first, he only met static. The sudden ping, however, had lifted his spirits. If only he could leap up with joy right about now.

"Joker, are you there?" Liara asked, tapping the side of her helmet.

"Loud and clear," Joker replied on the other end.

Liara sighed, more than relieved.

"Good to hear your voice, Joker! Could use your sense of humor right about now," Garrus responded, retreating from several of the Merged he had shot down. "We got four survivors in the facility! Get the Normandy here for an evac and lock in our signal! On the double, now!"

Witt shook his head. "Wait, nononono! Not yet! They're gonna get—"

He froze when someone groaned loudly behind him. He tried to turn his head, but he never saw the blow that killed him. A loud crack came from his neck as a great pang of pain coursed through his body. Everything became blurry as he fell on the roof with a heavy thud. He couldn't breathe. The only thing he saw before everything turned black were the panicked looks on the aliens' faces.

 _Witt McCree  
Status: Dead  
Cause: Blunt force to the neck_

* * *

Dr. Harland laid on a stretcher, clinching to a datapad like a child with a teddy bear Her eyes were bloodshot. She could barely muster tears, her nostrils stuffed and wet. She couldn't think or feel anything at all.

All who she cared about, what she valued—all gone. She just wanted to get this over with. She wanted to be out of here.

She looked at her datapad and read through the individual reports made by the rest of her team. Witt told her months ago that he wanted to go on a pilgrimage to Mecca on Earth. Neil was willing to risk isolation, he told her in his cover letter if only to set out on a new frontier. Dave only wanted to see his family after months of hard work.

The mere thought of them, along with dozens of other members, brought her close to tears. It was her fault nearly all of them died.

The stench of corpses mixed with blood and antiseptic lingered in the air. It was hard to ignore them. Shepard and her squad didn't bother to clean up the mess, and Chelsey was too occupied with guarding the door to the outside.

Chelsey was sitting on a spare she happened to grab, her curved, silver Lancer assault rifle resting on her lap. He bobbed her head around, frowning, trying to stave off drowsiness.

Harland stared at a pistol attached to Chelsey's hip. If only she could just snatch it…

Without thinking, the scientist dropped the datapad on the floor, which landed with a clank. Her shoulders dropped, she stepped toward the guard with an outstretched hand.

Chelsey zipped her head toward the scientist, now wide awake with surprise obvious on her face. "The hell are you doing?!" she asked incredulously as she stood up.

Dr. Harland froze. She said nothing as she lowered her hand.

Chelsey sighed as she rubbed the temples of her forehead. "Don't… do that to me, okay? I can't deal with more people dying! As if things couldn't get worse, I got this massive, _splitting_ headache that won't go away."

"I…" Harland hesitated, looking away in shame. "I received an automated report. Witt's gone."

"What? When?"

"Just now." Neil took great care to installing macros to each of the team's omni-tools, reading their life-signs. If there were any drastic change, such as death or being infected, it sent out a notification in a nanosecond.

Chelsey stood there, silent. She let out an irritated groan.

Something clicked inside the scientist's mind. "How long have you had this headache for?"

"Since Shepard left. I haven't eaten anything, drank anything, and I haven't gotten any sleep," Chelsey answered. "Didn't take you as a medical doctor, ma'am."

"You said you weren't close to the orb when it started?"

Chelsey had her eyes closed as she shook her head, though going through the motions, it wasn't to answer her question. "I…"

The guard opened her eyes, only to roll them up before she stumbled a few steps and landed on the floor with a heavy thud.

Harland gasped and knelt. She opened Chelsey's left eye, flashing a light from her omni-tool. It looked normal enough. The pupil shrunk in response to the light. She opened the other eye. Same result.

She sighed, relieved. She tried to lift the unconscious woman up, grunting. She hoped to get Chelsey onto one of the stretchers.

"Who would've guessed the guard's armor and all that muscle would make someone so heavy," she muttered to herself sardonically.

 _Chelsey Fayne  
Status: Unconscious, but in stable condition  
Cause: Stress, sleep deprivation_

* * *

The door slid open and Arthur entered first. Shepard flanked him, watching their six. The room was square-ish, the size of a house. Unlike the rest of the facility, it was untouched and well-lit. That was juxtaposed by how empty it was, save for a plain pillar in the center, crowned by a transparent orb. Surrounding it were strange marks etched on the floor. A closer look revealed these were equations, though random in pattern. Shepard and Arthur couldn't help but find it strange but they couldn't dwell on it.

To the far right, there was a rectangular window overhead, as if observing the chaos. There was a door just below it, a red light flickering next to it.

With that in mind, Shepard moved toward the locked door as Arthur planted the explosives on and around the orb, unraveling a bundle of copper wires. The frames and the walls surrounding the duo creaked and groaned, tapping like fingers on a metal table.

Shepard rubbed her jaw, the hums vibrating between her teeth. Kaidan once mentioned a similar occurrence when they walked by the relay monument on the Citadel. A shiver went down her spine. She hoped whatever similarities shared between the two was just a coincidence.

"What's the holdup?" Shepard turned to the security chief. She hoped some small talk could keep her mind off the implications.

He grunted and stood up. "Why don't you try and rig some homemade explosions together?" He took a step back and stretched his hand out at the explosives, most of them attached and connected to the orb.

Shepard rolled her eyes. "I'll let you get back to it."

Arthur scoffed and knelt, getting back to work. "Suit yourself. Mind giving me the flamethrower?"

Shepard hesitated for a moment. "You sure? I saw you making a warp field."

"Yeah, positive. You can do so much with one warp field before gettin' jumped by the rest of these freaks," Arthur said, seething. "Now gimme the damn thing."

Reluctantly, Shepard walked over and handed the Firestorm to Arthur before turning her attention back to the locked door. With her omni-tool in hand, she splashed a bit of omni-gel on the door's lock pad. Immediately, the light turned green and the door slip open. She smirked, wishing she had _all_ the omni-gel she ever wanted. It would make her life—and her mission—a lot easier.

Stepping inside, she climbed up the stairs to her left. At the top, she found herself in a small room with mainframes all over. The only source of illumination was a terminal resting on a counter by the window, flanked left and right by orange screens.

The human Spectre went over to the terminal with a perplexed look. Apparently, some dipstick forgot to purge the files. She had a bad feeling about this.

She didn't have time to look through every single file and log in the terminal, as most of them were about keeping track of Acabar's ecosystem. However, she almost passed over the more recent ones, which told a completely different story.

They were a series of memos.

 ** _TO: Layla Harland_**

 ** _FROM: Alexandra Rice_**

 ** _DATE: June 15th, 2183_**

 ** _SUBJECT: The anomaly_**

 ** _For the past three weeks and four days, the anomaly has displayed unusual traits. Among them include:_**

 ** _* Displacement of select objects, places, and/or people._**

 ** _* Creating vibrations from potential motion._**

 ** _* Glowing a dark-blue colour, not unlike biotics. (We haven't detected any traces of eezo, however)_**

 ** _* Random numbers and equations surrounding the object._** ** _Dr. King theorized they are related to quantum mechanics and wormholes, but we are unable to confirm or refute it._**

 ** _* Emits electrical charges._**

 ** _However, several of our members had filed complaints of migraines. Levon Carter has received medical attention. Most disturbingly, Carter has displayed deformities, especially in the facial area. Almost immediately, the deformations have gotten worse and Levon started attacking the security guards._**

 ** _Everyone's scared. We're cut off from the galaxy thanks to the constant and random storms and we're running out of supplies. Some of us want to go home. I'm no exception. Meanwhile, others want to do something about the orb, either contain it or destroy it. Most of security wants to destroy it. What's your recommendation? Awaiting response._**

 ** _TO: Alexandra Rice_**

 ** _FROM: Layla Harland_**

 ** _DATE: June 15th, 2183_**

 ** _SUBJECT: Reply_**

 ** _After some deliberation, it is in my sincerest believe we stay on the course. Do not leave this facility. If the ExoGeni board of directors get a hold of this, they'll close out this facility, and either fire us or transfer us to other outposts. I've heard rumors of the facilities on Nodacrux and Feros. I won't make the same mistake here. We've made progress not only on the planet but also on the anomaly. The sheer subject of our research with the object is literally boundless. Why squander the potential? Don't bother with a peer review. Send more to investigate the anomaly. We'll have more accurate results._**

 ** _On the subject of Levon Carter, have Kirkman perform an autopsy on his remains. Notify his family that he died in an accident. I don't care what lie you spin it with, as long as you don't mention a word of this 'incident'._**

 ** _TO: Layla Harland_**

 ** _FROM: Bradley Stroker_**

 ** _DATE: June 17th, 2183_**

 ** _SUBJECT: It's your fault_**

 ** _I'm not certain if you've noticed or you've lost your mind, but people are dying! More of these 'Merged', as you've called them, are multiplying. Our peers and friends are turning into these things, they're overwhelming our security forces, and they're taking over the facility. If that's not a total shitshow, I don't know what will._**

 ** _You're right about the collateral damage. When (not if, mark my words) word gets around, you'll be blamed for this. Best case for you, you'll be going through court case after court case. Worst case? You'll be serving a life sentence in a maximum-security prison. No way some asshole like you should be running this place._**

 ** _I'm sending this memo via my omni-tool. When the storm passes and the comm relay is fixed, I'll be sending everything to the board. Right now, doing my best to hide from these things. For what it's worth, you screwed up big time. Hope this is_**

 ** _OH GOD THEYRE COM_**

Shepard balled her hands and inhaled. Her whole body shook. She hoped Harland had a power trip, that stress had gotten to her. But that was wrong. She had to be arrogant enough to cut corners in the scientific process.

The temptation to shoot the scientist where she stood crept at the back of Shepard's mind. She was a Spectre. She was above the law. Others would look the other way, not daring to do the things she could, and no one would question her. On the other hand, she could get Harland arrested and have her go through countless courts. It would be a long and unbearable process, but it would likely ensure justice would be done.

Shepard tapped the side of her helmet. The more people know, the better. "Arthur?"

A fearful wail wasn't what Shepard expected.

The hairs standing on the back of her neck, she peeked through the window, only for her heart to drop. She dreaded the worst and now it was happening. The Merged had found them. There was a whole flock of them, somehow able to mold _through_ the door like clay.

Worst of all, several of them swarmed on Arthur. A fearful look in his eyes, he pushed a few of them back with the flamethrower and a biotic push. A burst of fire swept over them, the heat and flames eating away at their skins as they all cried out in pain.

Warm breaths basked down on her neck as she heard a moan right behind her. Her shotgun out, she turned a quick 180 and came face to face with one Merged.

"…Shepard? Are you really Shepard?" it asked. "You… you look… _different_ …"

A brief glance told so much about it. By its colorless overalls, it was once a workman who had bad luck. There was a gaping hole in where his broad chest should be. Bits of beige skin had torn off like someone had taken a bit out of him. On his gaunt face, his mouth had been split in two, all grinning like a madman. His stance was all wrong, janky and uneven. His needle-thin arms leaned forward, ready to attack.

Shepard braced her shotgun against her shoulder and fired before it could attack her. In an instant, it leaped back up to its feet and clawed at her. Much to her horror, it left a deep mark on her armor, bleeding underneath the suit. In a span of a few seconds, Shepard threw a warp field at the freak, followed by a barrage of punches and shotgun blasts.

It struggled to step forward, her biotics and hits overwhelmed it. She pushed forward and smashed its head against the mainframe behind it. It soon crumbled to the floor, its body turned into a disgusting pile of bones and organs.

The smell was horrible, reeking of rotten meat, but her military training and experience made her adapt to such situations. And said training and experience told her Arthur was in trouble and needed help. Bad. As if it wasn't obvious enough already.

No one would be left behind. Not on her watch.

With little time to spare and her shotgun still in hand, Shepard rushed out of that small office room with a scowl, mixed with hard-edged determination. Stepping out, she went for the hoard of Merge as more converged on Arthur and the orb. She remembered her grenades but quickly dismissed the thought. As effective as their high explosives were, she could risk hurting or worse killing Arthur by accident.

She cursed. She wished she had Liara with her right now.

One of the Merged went after her, only for its head ripped off its neck by her shotgun. With a flick of her rising wrist, a few of them were picked up by a blue biotic glow before being flung further in the air. As she drew closer, she bulldozed through several of them like a wrecking ball. Having little room to mobilize in, she whipped out her pistol through gritted teeth and starting firing, one monster at a time, followed by a warp field.

By the time she reached Arthur, the man was pinned down by a disproportionate, top-heavy Merged. A burst of fire from his pistol weakened its grip somewhat, but little else. The flamethrower was nowhere to be found.

In a quick succession, the commander kicked the top-heavy Merged in the abdomen hard enough to have it let go of Arthur. She gave him her hand so he could get back up to his feet…

…only for him to resist strongly, throwing her grip on him.

For a brief moment, Shepard stood there in silent shock. Judging by the number of gashes oozing with blood all over his body, Arthur needed medical attention. His whole body shook, and he gasped through stuttered breaths. There was a trigger in his left hand, waiting to be pressed, though he could barely have managed a grip on it.

She snapped out of her thoughts and noticed a small, lithe Merged, having only one eye and a loose jaw, climbing on the orb. With any hesitation, it began to tear away at the explosives. Two shots from her pistol took it down before it could do any more damage.

"Arthur, we have to go!" Shepard said through gritted teeth.

Arthur just sat there, motionless, his back turned against her.

A heavy weight landed on Shepard's back as a merged grabbed her from behind. It was reaching for her helmet.

With that, Shepard threw the thing over her shoulder, and it landed with a crack. It was pale and gray with hollow eyes, having no lips for its teeth to hide. To Shepard, it uncomfortably resembled a husk made from those dragon's teeth on Eden Prime and other planets. Her foot crushed its head in a single strike.

"C'mon, Arthur! I'll haul your ass out of here if I have to!" Shepard exclaimed through heavy breaths. She turned and, with a quick command from her omni-tool, fired a hot ball of plasma from her shotgun. It collided with a lone Merge and exploded, engulfing it in a thick layer of the stuff.

Arthur shook his head. "No…" he groaned.

Shepard's eyebrows rose. "What?!"

"There's no time. The orb…"

She gazed upon the orb as it suddenly grew brighter, taking on a blue hue, not unlike a mass effect field. Slowly, it lit up the entire room, casting great shadows from Shepard and the Merged. The hums and vibrations reached fever pitch, and her teeth clattered together

When they entered the room, she wanted to touch the orb, feel its cool and smooth surface. But she knew better. That orb caused this mess with Harland's help. It created the Merged. It was too dangerous to be left alone.

"Go! Get outta here and seal the door!" Arthur croaked, crawling toward the pillar. His grip on the trigger was now firm.

"But—"

"Go!"

Shepard wanted to protest, but the look on Arthur's bloody, resigned face made it obvious that there won't be any arguing around it. She sighed. She didn't want this.

"Good luck, soldier. Die well!"

Arthur said nothing, only letting out a weak smile.

And with that, Shepard turned around and shoved aside any Merged standing in her way. She almost stopped when she found the door was back to its original condition as if its alteration had never happened. But if she hesitated for one second, she will die—or worse.

She made it through and turned once more with wide eyes. There were so many of the Merged that piled up on top of one another, obscuring Arthur and the orb from prying eyes. She didn't have time to wonder where they all came from or just why in the grand scheme of things.

Among the legion of screams and the tearing of flesh like wet paper, Arthur roared at the top of his lungs, "Close it! Close it _now_!"

Shepard pounded on the pad next to the door, just as an extremely bright flash emitted from the center of the room. Shepard ducked for cover by the wall to the door as a wave of fire washed over everything. A thundering boom came along with it. The door closed in a fraction of a second, but the sheer force of the explosion tore it open. The remains flew down the dark hallway.

Moments later, the strong winds of the planet roared just past the opening.

She stood up and saw what remained of the room. It was in tatters, including the office. There was nothing else there. No orb, no traces of any of the Merged, and no Arthur. As twisted as it was, Shepard hoped he had a quick and painless death. The thought of his alternate fate sent shivers down her spine.

It had to end this way, she told herself as she made her way back to the armory. It won't bring Witt or anyone else back. The screams of the Merged had finally stopped, but somehow, the silence was even worse.

 _Casualty:_ _Arthur Newton  
Status: Dead  
Cause: Disembowelment, explosion_


	3. Epilogue: Surveying the Aftermath

**Epilogue: Surveying the Aftermath**

"Joker to Shepard. You read me?"

It felt like forever since Shepard and her team stepped out of the Normandy an into this hellhole of a planet. She leaned against a nearby wall that was intact for support. She hoped, though obvious, Liara, Witt, and Garrus managed to repair the relay. She needed some good news for once.

"I read you, Joker," she replied and let out a relieved sigh, tapping her helmet on the comm link. "It's good to hear you again."

"Yeah, same." She couldn't help but sense Joker smiling behind the mic. "Sounds like a whole lot went down here. Did you find anyone?"

"Almost everyone's dead," Shepard answered through heavy breaths. "Most of them had been… merged into another version of themselves. I can't explain how, nor why. But we stopped them. Two of the crew are still alive, including Dr. Harland."

"That's… kinda messed up. What about Garrus and Liara?"

"I don't know. I'll see if I could tap into their comms and find out. Rendezvous the Alliance for a pickup." There was a slight scowl in her voice. "I've had enough of this place."

"Aye aye, Commander." Direct as always with Joker when it came to following her orders. Usually, anyway.

It was then that she started to feel light-headed. She gritted her teeth and looked down, only to realize the wounds underneath her armor had gotten worse. There were bruises on her cheeks and forehead and the scratches she sustained trickled with blood. She hadn't noticed she was hurt badly until just now, but that was adrenaline for you.

She turned on her omni-tool and applied enough medi-gel to seal off the wounds in a moment's notice, giving her an extra burst of energy. It was enough for now, but she should check in with Dr. Chakwas for a further medical examination. She hoped the doctor wouldn't use any syringes.

She straightened up and moved forward. Soon, it was clear she was back in that circular hallway. Following that line of thinking, she assumed she was almost to the armory.

She tapped into a different commlink. "Garrus, Liara, this is Shepard. Either of you read me?"

The lack of a response made her worry. She held her breath, her lips pressing together. What if neither of them made it? How much would more die in this hellhole?

Finally, a growly voice had cut into the frequency. "I read you, Shepard." It was Garrus. She should thank some higher power for that.

"I read you as well." It was Liara. "Thank the Goddess you've made it!"

"Yeah," said Shepard, more than relieved. "You two okay?"

"We made it out in one piece," Garrus answered. There was a pause that lasted longer than either of them would've liked as if the turian realized what he said. "Uh, well… you know what I mean."

"Witt didn't make it," said Liara. "One of the creatures got him."

Shepard already knew that. Still, she cursed under her breath. "Have you seen any more of the Merged?"

"No," Liara answered. "As soon as they closed in on us, they suddenly all fell apart. No, it's as if they just disintegrated! I hope that means you've managed to destroy the orb."

"We did, but…" Shepard confirmed. She paused, pursing her lips as she closed her eyes. "Arthur insisted he stay behind. Gave his life to do it."

"I…" the asari on the other end hesitated. "I'm so sorry."

"What about the rest of the crew we rescued?" Garrus asked.

"Hopefully, Dr. Harland and Chelsey are still up and around. I'll meet you two on the Normandy. I'll take care of the rest. Harland has a lot she's not telling us."

"Your call, Shepard," Garrus replied. "We'll see you on the Normandy. Garrus and Liara out."

With that, the line ended and Shepard approached the door, recognizing the speaker and the screen next to it.

"Please say the passphrase," the VI requested when Shepard pressed a green button.

Shepard groaned. She went through hell and back. A good man died to get the job done. Remembering the phrases to _Twinkle Twinkle Little Star_ wouldn't even be on her list of priorities right now.

Wasting no time whatsoever, she slapped a hefty dose of omni-gel on the pad. With that, the gel did its work bypassing security, the VI's voice becoming more jumbled and slurred as if someone had managed to drug it. Or it had a strong drink if a VI could drink. A beep and the door opened, and Shepard stormed in.

The armory was the same as Shepard and the others had left it, with an unconscious Chelsey laying on a stretcher nearby while Dr. Harland sat nearby, her eyes dead set on her omni-tool's screen. She looked even worse. Disheveled hair, dried tears caked on her cheeks, and her eyes were baggy, rimmed with dark rings. Small wonder how drastic a person could change in a short amount of time. For a moment, Shepard couldn't help but feel pity for her. Almost, in fact.

"Dr. Harland?" Shepard called out. "It's done."

The scientist turned her omni-tool off before giving the Commander eye contact. "I'm aware. I looked over the readings as they normalized." She stood up and approached the Spectre. She certainly wasn't rushing to check up on Chelsey. "So… that's it, then. It's over." She straightened her stance, a firm look on her face. "Now, since you'll be contacting the Alliance soon enough, I suppose I'll be on my way. If you'll excuse me…"

The urge to shoot Harland in the face was rising, Shepard realized. If only that would be so easy to do…

Frowning, Shepard stopped the scientist short with a hefty grip on her shoulder. "No, I don't think so, Doctor," she said with a menacing look on her face.

"What?!" Dr. Harland looked back in confusion. She struggled for a moment, but even she realized she would be no match for a highly-trained and decorated soldier like Shepard.

"You heard me. We're not done yet."

The human Spectre shoved her back a few steps. Harland stumbled and grunted, rubbing her shoulder through gritted teeth. "Dammit, that hurt!"

"You're getting off easy," Shepard retorted. "I know what I saw in those files in the lab." Her hand hovered over her pistol.

"Files? What files?!" Harland went wide-eyed, fearful of what might come next. "I have no idea what you're talking about, Commander!"

For a moment, Shepard could believe her, if only for a second. She had heard that plea before countless times. And after all, she saw and went through, she wasn't really in a charitable mood. "Don't play dumb with me. You have a lot to do with the Merged _and_ their victims."

"But I had nothing to do with them, Shepard!" Dr. Harland cried out and gestured to emphasize her point. "I thought you understand; I made that absolutely clear!"

"Bullshit!" Shepard's lips curled, her voice trembling with anger. She was that close to Harland's face, her breath basking on the scientist's skin. "You rejected your coworkers' request to stop the experiment on the orb, yet you knew what kinds of things it could do to people! And worst of all, you lied to me, you lied to your friends! If you even stopped for a moment to think, none of this would've happened!"

"I'm bloody well aware of it, but it would've happened either way!" The scientist's voice rose and fell, as she pointed accusingly at Shepard. "And don't you _dare_ talk to me that way, after everything I've done. What about all of our progress, the data… the limitless resources, the potential… Don't tell me you're throwing—"

"Don't try to make it all about you and some noble cause," Shepard shot back. "Like I said, you're just another mad scientist with no regards for restraint."

 _C'mon. Just shoot her already_ , her thoughts cried out, and she was on the verge of pulling out her pistol. _She had it coming. Even after the courts have dragged her through the mud, they could very well deem her innocent, with no one the wiser._

No, she told herself. Tempting as it was, she was here to rescue the remaining members. Shepard put aside her pistol and stepped back. Perhaps she could appeal to whatever remained of Harland's better nature.

"Dr. Harland?"

"Yes?"

"Do you regret everything you've ever done here?"

A brief, pregnant pause. Harland said nothing.

"I need an answer. Don't hold out on me."

Harland paused, still silent. With some reluctance, she nodded.

"Here's my advice: make up for it. Face trial and serve your time," said Shepard. "That way, maybe you'll be given another chance. Maybe not. Don't make this any more difficult than it already is."

"I…" The scientist stared past Shepard with a blank but somber look, lost in her supposed regrets. "Perhaps you're right, Commander. I guess I have no choice but to face the music."

"I hope you can afford a good lawyer. You have a hell of a way to go." Shepard tapped the side of her helmet. "Joker, what's the status?"

"The Alliance is already here to pick Harland up, Commander," Joker responded. "After that, it'll be business as usual."

"Appreciate it, Joker. Shepard out." The line ended.

Shepard gave the scientist a firm shove towards the door outside the armory as a pair of medics entered to lift Chelsey onto another stretcher they brought in. Eventually, the two were led outside, the scientist in a jumpsuit and helmet, as an Alliance shuttle arrived and landed nearby. An Alliance soldier led Harland to the shuttle without resistance, and they parted ways as the Commander stepped inside the Mako with Garrus and Liara. And with that, Shepard drove away from the ruins of the facility.

Shepard could only hope this nightmare would be over for good.

* * *

 _Months later…_

He tapped his foot to the rhythm of a mid-20th-century rock song, reminding him of home. Sitting on a well-cushioned bench, he looked through the window as his shuttle entered Acabar's atmosphere. He didn't feel a thing, thanks to the shuttle's inertial dampeners created by mass effect fields.

Passing over a mountain range, he spotted a dark figure out of the corner of his eye. Just who or what was that, he wondered. He heard there was a freak accident that took out most of the previous residents and a part of the facility below. When he inquired for more information, he got stonewalled instead.

Finally, the shuttle descended past a cliffside, the bay doors opening below. As it landed, he examined himself. He had everything he needed, should the worst come to pass. Several guns latched on his back in the form of metal blocks, a gray breastplate underneath his brown jacket, space-age cargo pants and armored boots to protect him from extreme conditions and hazards, and his trusty old Pip-Boy strapped to his left arm. He was confident that he would be more than ready for anything.

He stood up and the wall to his left parted and opened. Stepping out of the shuttle and into the bay, he saw that he wasn't the only one here. There were dozens of mechanics performing some maintenance checks on the other shuttles in the area. There was a woman in a black-sleeved, white uniform with the golden Cerberus logo on her chest. She had been waiting for him by the elevator.

The scientist raised a brow. "Pardon me, but were you expecting a war to break out here? Last I checked, we're a scientific facility, _not_ a military outpost."

The man crossed his arms in front of him and scoffed. "Huh. What tipped you off, then?" he asked sardonically.

"The attitude, now I think about it." She balled her hand and cleared her throat with it. "It was merely a rhetorical question, but I digress. My name is Dr. Layla Harland. I oversee this facility and this… Transportalponder project of yours until your arrival. What kind of a name is that, anyway?"

The man's mouth crinkled into a frown as he rolled his eyes. _Not this crap again_. "It's an awesome name, but I didn't come up with it."

"I see. So you're this… Courier Ms. Lawson mentioned?"

He grinned, his arms unfolded. "The one and only."

"Well, then, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." Harland offered her hand and the Courier shook it. He couldn't help but notice something… off about her. As if she was detached, hardly showing any emotion. At least, more so than the other Cerberus scientists he had met.

And with that, she entered the elevator with him following just behind her. She pressed a button and the door close, sending the elevator downwards.

* * *

 _And so the nightmare is over... for now. Happy Halloween!_


	4. Codex Entries

**Planets and Locations**

Acabar

 _Acabar (meaning "finished" in the human Spanish language) was named by Alliance explorers because the storms had destroyed their probes,_ _which were caused by the planet's usually fast rotation despite its size. In addition, these storms had a high concentration of magnesia from the crust and a part of its core. The constant tectonic activity had caused the planet's jagged landscapes, with the heavy volcanic activity causing the thick atmosphere to manifest._

 _As a carbon planet, Acabar was not ideal for colonization, nor does it contain any sign of indigenous lifeforms. There were rumors of rich resources scattered across the planet, including silicon carbide, titanium carbide, aluminum silicates, and magnesium. However, the enterprising few venturing to these parts claimed otherwise._

 **Persons of Note**

Layla Harland

 _Dr. Layla Harland was born in 2138 to an ordinary but well-off Wales family on Earth, Harland worked her way up and earned top scores in her youth, earning the attention of the fledgling University of Bekenstein. As such, in 2156, she became one of the first students to attend there. During her time as a student, she studied under Professor Miah Carswell, notable for her contributions in colonizing planets. In 2163, she graduated with top marks and multiple degrees in xenobiology, cybertechnology, and biotic study. Because of her contributions among her peers, she gained reputation as a head researcher, gaining leadership and management skills._

 _However, there was a dark side to Harland's reputation. Her time on Beckenstein caused her to become ruthless and ambitious, often claiming credit for her peer's works and accomplishments._

 _Not long after her graduation, ExoGeni sought her expertise and knowledge, hiring her and assigned her to various projects. Over the years, she created quite a résumé along with a web of contacts, some more questionable than others. Supposedly, she had connections to friends associated with a human supremacist group known as Cerberus. On official grounds, she dismissed those rumors as false._

 _She was married to Elita Bursley for nearly two decades and had adopted two children._

 **Species and Creatures**

The Merged

 _Whenever a person fell into a black hole, their body would stretch and contort to great lengths as its strong gravity pulled them in. After that, the victim perished instantly. In comparison, as Dr. Layla Harland had theorized, whenever two contradictory version of one person (such as different ages and genders) were affected by tears in the multiverse, they would eventually merge into one complete self, as the name implied. Or at least, those who survived the process._

 _Whatever the orb Harland and her team found had gone through, its process of merging was always incomplete, creating excruciating pain in its victims. The merging brains caused severe trauma, leading to strong cases of dissociative identity disorder and other signs of mental illnesses. Autopsies of their remains revealed that many of the Merged's organs were malformed. The more redundant organs created comparisons to the krogans' secondary and tertiary systems._

 _The Merged were able to retain some semblance of sentience, capable of speaking as well as handling tasks such as opening doors and using firearms. Whenever the orb was about to be destroyed, it would trigger an electromagnetic signal that made them more ferocious in battle._

 _Whatever the Acabar team knew about the Merged, these creatures had violated the laws of physics, thermodynamics, and biology. A surefire way to counteract their hastened regeneration was disintegration, either from incineration or from the use of biotics, or applying enough firepower to tear them into pieces._


End file.
